


Battle

by itsnotlove



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: (of other characters), Denial of Feelings, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, ao pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:14:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9057097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsnotlove/pseuds/itsnotlove
Summary: At twenty-eight, this was not how Aozaki had envisioned he’d be spending his Thursday nights. If someone had told him he’d willingly spend his time with the naked, sleeping body of his male lover, it would have been the last thing they’d ever said to him. The fact that this lover also happened to be his rival- and one from another business- well, that only made it all the more disgusting.
  for dontbemeanplease, secret santa 2016 <3





	

The cheap hotel room had filled quickly with smoke, but that didn’t seem to bother either of it’s occupants. A large man sat in a chair far too small for his sturdy frame and used the butt of his last cigarette to light his fourth. He leaned backward, the slim, wooden armrests digging into his sides, and flicked the now useless butt into the ashtray beside him.

  


The naked back of a man only slightly smaller than himself moved gently in the bed, sheets pulled down and pooled around his hips. Shadows made him look more muscular than he actually was, the darkness dripping and wrapping around him almost as intimately as Aozaki had been earlier. 

  


At twenty-eight, this was not how Aozaki had envisioned he’d be spending his Thursday nights. If someone had told him he’d willingly spend his time with the naked, sleeping body of his male lover, it would have been the  _ last  _ thing they’d ever said to him. The fact that this lover also happened to be his rival- and one from another  _ business-  _ well, that only made it all the more disgusting.

  


There had been no reason for him to turn up this time. After their last clash two months earlier, when Akabayashi had broken into his apartment, covered in blood and missing an eye, he’d told Aozaki it wouldn’t be happening again. He’d told him that he’d found a woman, or rather, that’s what Aozaki had assumed he’d meant. The idiot hadn’t said it so plainly, but there was no other reason why they should end their arrangement. Not to mention the fucking smile the bastard wore when he’d ended things. 

  


It shouldn’t have been a surprise that he’d punch it right off his shitty face.

  


Those two months in between hadn’t been hard to live through. It wasn’t as if Aozaki had any feelings for Akabayashi, and he wasn’t some teenage girl who couldn’t deal with rejection. All they’d been doing before was burning off a little steam, taking out their frustrations on one another in the only way that could avoid starting a war. It had been a fight, a constant battle to see who was the strongest between them. Anything else that occurred wasn’t worth mentioning.

  


Maybe that’s why he’d turned up at this shitty hotel when Akabayashi had called. If he settled the score and beat the piss out of him, then he wouldn’t have to keep seeing the bastard’s smiling face every time he so much as blinked. 

  


In the bed, Akabayashi heaved a large sigh and curled himself. Though there were no marks on him (other than the ones Aozaki had left), it was too easy to visualise him covered in blood. He was stained with his former employers death, and it would surely follow him for the rest of his days. Neither of them had discussed it, but it hadn’t taken much for Aozaki to figure out that Akabayashi had played a part in it.

  


The news of the death had spread quickly, and reached him only hours before Akabayashi’s phone call had. Aozaki had known better than to answer the call, let alone give the bastard an address and cut him off before he could confess to anything, but hadn’t been able to do much more.

  


He’d told himself he’d beat him; that he’d murder him with his fists and leave him in the room before calling in a tip to those who’d want to avenge Akabayashi’s deceased employer. It would be therapeutic, and could put this rivalry to bed forever.

  


He hadn’t thought Akabayashi would take the punches as easily as he did, or that he’d put up no resistance. The bastard’s smile was already gone, and he looked more broken when he’d shown up this time than he had when the wound in his eye socket was still fresh. It wasn’t fun to beat him, not when he was like… this.

  


For his death to mean anything, Akabayashi needed to have something to lose. He needed to want to live, not to beg silently for his own murder.

  


Aozaki took a long drag of his cigarette and readjusted himself in the uncomfortable chair. The bastard had come here expecting to die, and that wasn’t right. It wasn’t a fight, and an execution would be too good for him. If Aozaki were to kill Akabayashi, then it needed to be after both men had beat each other half to death first.

  


So he really couldn’t blame himself for letting off steam the same way they always had. 

  


The taste of blood had settled on his tongue, taunting him even now, hours after he’d kissed the bastard. Like a phantom, Aozaki could still feel the uneven texture of Akabayashi’s skin beneath his fingertips, and the harshness of his breath along the crook of his neck. Fucking him was as good as killing him, even if it had been slower this time. 

  


He needed to sear himself into Akabayashi’s memory so that he’d never forget this punishment, or just who was the strongest between them. Each touch was gentle, something far more shocking to the both of them than any blow could be, and Aozaki had realised too late that he was playing with a double-edged sword.

  


None of it had meant anything. Sex was nothing more than another power game, and though it felt like a lie, he told himself that he’d won the fight he’d picked. Akabayashi had clung to him afterward, his nails dragging roughly down Aozaki’s back, clearly showing how submissive he was. Aozaki had been, and was still, the more powerful.

  


By the time he’d pulled himself away, Akabayashi was asleep. He’d climbed off him and searched for his pants, then fumbled through the pockets for his freshly purchased box of cigarettes. After what had been supposed to be their last time, Akabayashi had mentioned how awful the taste of nicotine was on Aozaki’s tongue, and that no one in their right mind would want to taste it. That wasn’t why he’d quit smoking immediately after, though. No, it was just an annoying habit to have, and the only time he truly enjoyed it was after one of their tussles.

Why he’d bothered to pick up a pack on the way to the hotel wasn’t worth thinking about.

  


He took another drag and grimaced at the taste of the butt, not having realised how far it had burned down. He grumbled to himself as he snuffed it out in the ashtray, already regretting the purchase. It would be harder to stop this time, now that he’d had another taste.

  


“Open a window,” Akabayashi mumbled, voice still thick with sleep, “...stinks.”

  


“Shut up.” Aozaki was tempted to light another cigarette, but decided it was more rewarding to toss the packet at Akabayashi’s head instead. “Only thing that stinks here is you.”

  


“Heh,” He rolled onto his back and cracked open his eye to peer over at Aozaki, “thought this was a nightmare.”

  


There was an edge to that statement that made Aozaki feel uncomfortable, and he wasn’t too sure Akabayashi had been referring to what they’d done earlier. Nonetheless, he ignored it, and pried himself out of the armchair. “Roll over, I don’t want to see your ugly face.”

  


Akabayashi cracked a smile but kept his reply to himself, and rolled over and into the centre of the bed, taking up as much room as possible. He was still an annoying bastard, even after he’d been put in his place.

  


It only took two steps for Aozaki to reach the bed, and even in the dim lighting, he could see Akabayashi’s muscles tensing as he drew closer. The shadows shifted with the change of perspective, but clung to the subtle discolourations that littered Akabayashi’s back. Each mark was still fresh, and hid the older, paler scars from past encounters the same way the lights of the city hid the stars.

  


The bed dipped when Aozaki pushed his knee into it, and Akabayashi slid toward him a little more than gravity might have allowed on its own. “I hate your fucking face.”

  


“The feeling is mutual.”

  


Aozaki’s fingers brushed his hip lightly, and he folded himself almost in half so that his face hovered over the small of Akabayashi’s back. He could hear the bastard’s breathing stutter as his nose ghosted over his skin, but ignored any thoughts it might have conjured. With more reluctance than he wanted to admit, Aozaki pulled himself away and stood beside the bed as he tried to collect himself.

  


“I’ll settle the room.” Akabayashi broke the silence, his words devoid of any emotion.

  


It bothered Aozaki, for reasons he couldn’t fully allow himself to think about, and he responded with a curt nod. He gathered his things quickly, but pulled his clothes back onto his body slowly- it would look suspicious if he wasn’t dressed properly, so there was no need to rush.

  


It wasn’t until he was fully clothed and he’d checked his pockets to ensure they still carried the contents he’d arrived with several times that he realised he was delaying his departure. Again, he felt uncomfortable with the realisation, but didn’t want to think too deeply about it. Akabayashi was still awake, even if he was feigning sleep, and any sign of weakness could be catastrophic.

  


“I’m leavin’.” Aozaki spoke quietly, but didn’t walk toward the door for at least three seconds. The urge to turn was nearly overpowering, but that was probably because Akabayashi was dangerous, right?

  


“Aozaki,” Akabayashi’s voice was soft but hoarse, and Aozaki pretended he couldn’t hear it as he opened the door. The bastard said something else, but it was almost drowned out by the sound of the door slamming.

  


Whatever he’d wanted to say wasn’t something that Aozaki needed to hear, so he’d pretend he hadn’t heard it. This had been nothing but sex, and sex was nothing but a battle. 


End file.
